Sue Darroch and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

Does this photo depict the ghost of rock star/poet lead singer of The Doors Jim Morrison who died in Paris in 1971? It is according to the owner of the photo. You can find out more here via a short Youtube video clip:

Happy Wordless Wednesday - Tuesday Edition, and thank you for stopping by!

For a list of other Wordless Wednesday participants please click here.

This is a question we do get asked A LOT!

And I decided to bring it up here in response to this query:

Hi there

I would love to hear about your thoughts on what a Ghost is and what continues once the physical /mineral body dies. It is the first question i ask any Investigator who spends an enormous time researching and Investigating this subject and I am amazed at what answers i get. Would love to see what you both think.

Julian Pugh

Thanks Julian! And my answer is: We don't know. In fact no one who is being honest can answer this question with a 100 % certainty, unless they admit their response is based on faith, and not scientific fact. There is no correct answer at this point in time.

We wrote an article based on this question in 1999 for the ParaResearchers website, What Is A Ghost, and I am still as unclear on the answer as I was almost 10 years ago.

You may be surprised by the sheer volume of questions we at PSICAN, and the TGHRS receive on a monthly basis in regards to real estate. Some of these questions can be very specific in regards to a certain address or a potential property purchase. People wish to know whether we have heard if a property has been previously stigmatised or reported to us in the past.

Aside from these specific questions, which we cannot answer because we are governed under the Privacy Act, as well as our own privacy policies, we also receive queries of a more general nature such as do current owners have to disclose if their property is haunted etc.

The answers to these types of general questions can be different depending on state to state, province to province, and certainly country to country. Nor are we ourselves real-estate experts. What we do with queries such as these is refer people to those who are experts such as drodio.com, which is a terrific online resource for real estate information in my opinion.

If you are in need of good solid information on topics such as buying real estate or have specific questions on disclosure this site can help you. I have found that the website is very easy to navigate, and use, plus they have a toll free line available for those who prefer to speak with a live person.

Please remember that our own expertise is limited to research, and documentation. We will do our best to help you out, but in matters such as the purchase, and sale of real estate you must get expert advice.

*On an off note I have been reading that now with the Canadian dollar so high it is a great time to think about investing in American property.

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

I am writing to you about a ghost named Catherine that was said to reside at a building on Parliament St.

I once worked at this building when it was a club called Pope Joan in the late 90's.

The only history I know of the building was that it was the Rose Café for years before that. The Owner however when I worked there told me that it was once a seamstress factory many years ago.

When you first enter the building on the left hand side, there is a steep set of stairs that go into a loft above the club. I was told that a woman named Catherine, who was once an employee at the factory, fell down these stairs and broke her neck, or died in some manner.

Other employees told me when I started working there that this ghost named Catherine inhabited the building. Some told me of feeling cold-spots, had feelings of being watched, and one time a busser said she had lost her balance on the stairs and felt hands push her back up. The owner who lived in the loft above the club said that on many occasions items would be moved in her apartment, and at times candles would be lit when she got in.

I have had my own experiences with Catherine unfortunately. On some occasions I had felt cold-spots myself, especially in the lower level of the club. When cleaning the floors I always had a feeling of coldness and not being alone. To the point I would have to have company when down there closing up. On another occasion, I was chatting with my manager about Catherine, claiming that she did not exist, challenging my manager. Right after I said out loud, "There is no Catherine here!" just then one of the bar juice/pop guns dropped out of it's holster and thudded against the keg fridge. Let's just say I never let myself be alone anywhere in the bar after that.

The place where my manager said most of this activity took place was in the sub-basement. The owner said that she had seen a hazy shadow at some point down there. I never went down myself, as I was too afraid.At the present time, I believe the building is closed down and uninhabited. It was a place called Foxy's and Coyote's after Pope Joan, but the business did not last long.

We thank our witness for this report...

If this story sounds familiar, you have information you can add or if you have had similar experiences please do contact us at submissions AT torontoghosts.org

Human beings have had a long, and ancient fascination with sparkling gemstones, and precious metals. Both stones, and metals have been thought to have magical properties, and used within various rites, and ceremonies depending on the type of stone. This is true of all cultures, and people around the globe.

Birth stones have always held a special interest for me personally, and it is interesting to note that the more traditional stones such as Garnet, Amethyst, and Bloodstone have been included with the modern Diamond, Emerald, and Ruby as gemstones of choice for both women's, and men's latest jewelry trends.

Diamond Rings Wedding & Engagement Rings can all be found to feature any one or a combination of these beautiful stones these days. More, and more people are now choosing to design their own jewelry so the imagination is really the only limit in jewelry. This to me is very cool as I like to give, and wear unique pieces.

I read all about this on a terrific online resource called Sparkle N Dazzle Co. The website features sales, and comprehensive information on beautiful Sapphire Rings Ruby Rings Emerald Rings and so much more! No matter what your tastes, and budget this website has something to suit everyone, and no matter what the special occasion, wedding, anniversary, Christmas, promise etc.

The website is designed to be user friendly, and I personally found it very easy to navigate through the various pages. I had fun looking at the Wedding Anniversary Rings Eternity Rings, that the site features, and other jewlery gift items. I'm certain the photos can not do true justice!

These high quality jewlery products come with a very competitive price range, and I would recommend this site to anyone in the market for beautiful, genuine, gemstone jewelry.

The company has been in business for well over a decade, since 1992, and they also offer live chat through their website for anyone who would like further information on their products. Now THAT is definitely cool!

You can go have a look for yourself by clicking on any of the links I have included for you in this entry, and be sure to check out their 3D RING BUILDER feature, it is the first one that I have seen like it, and it definitely is a must-see for any prospective ring buyer in my humble opinion.

Isn't it nice to know that no matter what a specific stone means to us personally we can now access these gemstones, and design our own jewelry if we wish, especially those that are symbolic of our own special rites, and ceremonies.

An article in Scientific America asks the question did the Flores Hobbit have a root canal? And if so, does this finally sole the mystery surrounding the true origin of the remains found on the Indonesian island of Flores?

Here is a snippet from the article:

And you thought Frodo had it hard. In what is shaping up to be a battle of Tolkienian proportions, the tiny remains from Flores, Indonesia--paleoanthropology's hobbit--have once again come under attack.

Most paleoanthropologists believe that the hobbit belongs to a new species of human, Homo floresiensis. But now comes word that the specimen used to define the species--a largely complete female skeleton known as LB1--appears to have had some dental work. If so, it would mean that, rather than being an 18,000-year-old representative of a new species, the hobbit was just a modern human with a growth disorder that left it with a brain the size of a grapefruit, among other odd traits, which is what critics have argued all along.

Full article here

Are the remains those of a previously unknown human species given the name Homo floresiensis as so many believe or are you now convinced that they are in fact the remains are those of a diseased modern human? Or will we never know for sure?

What are your thoughts?

One of the famous Cottingley Fairies photos.

The Cottingley Fairies are a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford in England, depicting the two in various activities with supposed fairies. In 1917, when the first two photos were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10.

The photographs sparked a decades-long debate about their authenticity, and earned the cousins widespread notoriety. Although four of the five were ultimately admitted to be fake, the two cousins disagree about the authenticity of the last.

For more information see Cottingley Fairies wiki entry.

Happy Wordless Wednesday - Tuesday Edition, and thank you for stopping by!

For a list of other Wordless Wednesday participants please click here.

It is Spring-time, and my wandering thoughts turn to travel! Today, I'd like to take the opportunity to discuss one of the most spookiest cities to visit within America, and that is Boston in Massachusetts.

I have had the good fortune to be able to visit Boston in the Spring several times when I was much younger with my parents. It was always a fun stop on our way to visit with my Uncle, and Aunt who still live nearby. As a paranormal enthusiast, and an amateur historian I can tell you that I am itching to back there, and do some more exploring.

One of the best ways to check out a city like Boston in my opinion is to go through a sightseeing tours operator like Trusted Tours & Attractions. They offer different tours, and at affordable prices.

Things to do in Boston includes a very cool ghosts and gravestones tour, which I learned about through the Trusted Tours & Attractions website.

If this sounds like something that might just interest you, then sign up for their travel newsletter, its free, and can really helping in planning your vacation, and saving cash on brilliant tours such as these. Oh, and if you sign-up before the end of April you have a chance at winning a hand held GPS unit. Cool!

Just a quick note to readers of our websites that as we Spring clean so to speak the PSICAN main website (the official re-launch will be June 2008) you can still join us for paranormal discussion both on our message board forums, and via the social networking PSICAN Facebook group, which is open to members, and friends of the site.

As I have been checking out the new PSICAN site I can tell you, I am really liking the new look, and feel.

Business Loans can be a quick, and effective way for groups such as ours that have a business licence to obtain much needed equipment for in-the-field investigations.

With this in mind I had a look at the EZUnsecured.com website this morning. The site is a great resource tool for those in need of this type of loan. It is very easy to use, and the processing is fast.

If you have never applied for a loan online before you can obtain a wealth of good info through this site's FAQ section. You can also call them directly through their toll-free USA phone number +18002010001 and speak live to one of their customer service reps.

Have a look for yourself by clicking on the link I have added in for you above, and see how quickly, and painlessly you can obtain the cash you need through this service.

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a rummage sale held once a year at our local church. Rummage sales can be a great way to obtain vintage, and/or out-of-print books, and I was not disappointed!

I picked up a copy of Haunted Houses, by Charles G. Harper, copyright 1907. The book is a collection of haunts around Great Britain, and includes the more famous such as The Tower Of London, and more obscure, including a section devoted to poltergeists.

I look forward to reading this 101 year old gem, and will review it here in the very near future.

My father suffered from heart issues throughout his life, and I too have what is known as Mitral Valve Prolapse or MVP for short, which means my heart's valves do not open, and close properly. While my own condition is not exactly life threatening it has none-the-less made me various interested in heart health, and associated issues.

When it comes to life saving treatments for those suffering a heart attack a defibrillator can be the difference between life, and death. Many companies are now investing in these along with training staff on their proper usage. Of course there are other things one can, and should do immediately if suspecting SCA or Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and you can read about these online at Inside Cardiac Arrest by St. Jude Medical, which offers the latest info on heart related topics, including videos, list of risk factors, signs of cardiac arrest, and more. This type of info could save your life, and the site is definitely bookmark worthy.

Our friend Andy alerted us to this situation in the United Kingdom where an entire religion is potentially being persecuted because of the wide extent of fraud artists out there. Please read "Spiritualists predict trouble as UK government targets their religion" and "There may be trouble ahead" for further information.

All of the potential fraudsters I have come across are not members of the Spiritualist church at all.....so it is not even a matter of them not policing their own. Nor do they (the Spiritualist Church) charge beyond a normal collection plate that you find in all churches of various religions.

While I do support consumer protection, this law may serve to injure good people by lumping them in with the paranormal con artists.

"Caveat Emptor" should be the rule of thumb in my opinion, and that means the consumer must take some responsibility as to finding out exactly what they are paying for, and deciding whether or not they are getting value for their money.

Also please realise that there are no such things as licensed or accredited ghost hunters. If someone makes that claim find out the where, and the how before opening your wallet, and do go to the police if you feel you have been the victim of fraud.

Again it is very unfortunate that a few very bad apples will spoil things for all.

What are your thoughts?

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

Old Fort York, Toronto, Ontario Canada

The following was submitted by one of our readers...

I just wanted to submit an unusual experience that I had on March 30th at Fort York.

I was with my family at Fort York in the late afternoon. It was a cool, windy day so aside from another couple we had the place to ourselves.

As we were walking towards the Officers Brick Barracks/Mess (bldg. 3 on their map), I noticed that the curtain on the window to the right side of the door went up and fell down again. I just assumed there would be somebody standing inside the door. My eldest kid was ahead of me and I was about to yell at them to not go barrelling inside in case they ran into somebody but they were at the door before I had the chance. As soon as they had the door open and we caught up I realized that there was nobody there. In fact there was nobody else in the building. As the family moved on I stood inside the entry with the door shut to see if the wind would blow the curtain up. You could definitely hear the wind hitting the door and even coming in the cracks around the edge but the curtains didn t even budge much less raise right up.

I thought this was weird but continued on.

In the same building we continued on to the kitchen. We were all busy looking around when we heard a sound coming from the kitchen door. It sounded like somebody was pushing it to come through so we moved out of the way and then it just stopped and nobody came through. There was nobody on the other side either. My husband and I just gave each other a look like that was weird and continued on through the building. It wasn't until after we left Fort York that I started thinking about how strange it was.

Make what you want out of this. It was likely just the wind playing tricks on us. I must admit I can't figure out how that curtain would have raised up like that without somebody holding it up to look out or somebody brushing by right beside it. I was so sure there was somebody there.

This is interesting as The Officers Barracks is a site of many report... and the kitchen in it was a place where Matthew Didier and Sue Darroch ran into something similar with the door a number of years back.

While talking with two staff members in the kitchen about "ghosts" (both of whom were more-or-less poo-pooing stories, but at the same time telling us about interesting events that happened there to other people, the latch on the door between the kitchen and the hallway to the dining area started to move back and forth with enough sound to attract everyone's attention. We all watched the latch move back and forth but never "up" which would open the door. After a few seconds, the movement stopped and Matthew ventured out to see who was there... and no one was. The staff members said it was the wind, but this did not make much sense... wind would have moved the door back and forth which making the latch move up and down on it's lever... not side-to-side... The only way this movement could be achived is if the wind blew a small latch back and forth without moving the door... highly unlikely... but the staffers stayed with their explanation... it was the wind.

We thank our witness for this report.

Does this report sound familiar? Do you have a similar experience at this location that you would like to share? If so, we would like to hear from you. Please send your submission to submissions AT torontoghosts.org

Image Credit: Matthew Didier

So what is 3gb you might be wondering? Well if you do not know, and you are not already hooked up then please do read on.

Earlier this afternoon I set up an account on 3gb, which is a really cool social networking website. Wait, a minute....if you are thinking there is one too many social sites already on the net, this one works perfectly well with a user's existing Facebook profile. How cool is that?!

Setting up the initial profile was very easy. Just a few drop down boxes that are mandatory, and then as little or as much as you want in regards to your interests.

You can set up groups, blog, listen to music, chat, listen to the radio , check out other users, and set up online photo albums. All this, and no throwing sheep at people, or forcing you to invite others.

Oh, and getting back to groups if you have a 3gb account already, or if you decide to set one up, check out the PSICAN group, which I believe is the very first, and only one of its kind at the moment on this social network site.

If you want more info just click on the logo or linky above. So far, I have found it to be easy, and fun.

Thank you to the sponsor.

What is it with plumbers turned ghost hunters? Read on:

Julian Pugh plumber/ghost hunter on the haunted staircase at The Station Hotel in the U.K Here is a snippet from a news item:

DUDLEY'S spookiest hotel is set to welcome a resident paranormal investigator to lead regular ghostbusting events.

Julian Pugh, from Stourbridge has secured the eerie job at The Station Hotel, renowned for its frequent spine tingling ghostly goings on.

Many residents at the haunted Castle Hill hotel have reported of a number of ghostly presences including a lady on the stairs, various male ghosts in the bedrooms and a man and a woman in the cellar.

The events, which kick off on Thursday May 8, will run once a month and will include a two course meal from 7pm and a three hour late night ghostbusting tour of the hotel led by Julian, spending an hour vigil in each spooky location including the dark cellars and bedrooms 214 to 217 - reported to be the scariest in the hotel.

Thirty-nine year old Julian, a former plumber, decided to finish sorting out pipes and tap into other worlds, after returning from a holiday in Majorca over three years ago.

Read the full article here

Although I have tried a home repair job once with PVC pipes I have zero plumbing skills .....perhaps this is why I am a researcher, and investigator as well as documentarian .... and not a "ghost hunter"...taxidermy in the spirit world is such a bitch ...

Mississauga ON - September 23rd, 2004 9:40pm

Three dull orange lights of constant luminescence each the size of a pencil eraser held at arms length, in a more or less straight line formation. The formation was at an angle of between 10 to 30 degrees off the line of travel, varying that angle over the duration of the sighting.Formation length was about the length of observers thumb as seen at arms length. Line of travel was from the north west to the south east. This corresponds to the direction from Toronto Int'l airport to lake Ontario. There are many aircraft in the air space in the duration of the day where observation took place. None take this flight path. There was no sound coming from the formation, at least not audible by the observer. Sky was clear with no wind. Light of formation could have been the reflection caused by city street outdoor lighting, if the object(s)were of a reflective material such as polished aluminum. Observer watches night/day sky often and has come to know the difference between known aircraft or birds and for example this observation. It was not the first time. People look up at the sky, you'll be amazed.

If you have seen something similar please contact us.

Dundas ON December 7th 2006 approx 9pm

I was sitting on our TV room floor at home, and we have a large window with curtains that faces in the city of Hamilton. We are halfway up the escarpment.

I noticed what I thought was a really bright star. Or maybe a planet, it was so bright. White, and twinkly.I was trying to find my favourite TV show and got bored doing it, so I kept watching the star. After a few mins (10?) I noticed it was in a different position that it had been - I could tell by how close it appeared to our window sill. I then watched it move very very slowly more to the right, then back to where it was.

As it was moving, i noticed a set of 3 very small white lights rotate on the left hand side. It then moved to the left hand side again, in a very slow fashion.

My daughter called out to me so I went upstairs to check on her, she was fine - her movie was over and i turned it back on. I went downstairs about 5 mins later and I could not see the star anymore. This was around 9:30pm.

I thought the object was a star. Then since it moved, I thought it was a new satellite (most of the ones I've seen move very fast across the sky, but this star did not look like a plane, so I thought of a satellite.)

While this was going on, I tried to call my next door neighbour who is a pilot, i tried to call my husband, and afterwards my brother to tell them about the star and I could not get through to any of them. I was not scared, I just thought it was really neat. I remember feeling irked that I couldn't get through to anyone to share the what I saw, so I made a note of it and planned to call Mac's planetarium to inquire about satellites and to get a star map for the winter sky.

If you have any information or have witnessed something similar please contact us.

One of the few spook lights around the world that have been extensively investigated, but never fully explained are the Joplin lights. These lights are similar to the Ontario lights that we debunked on Ghost Road in Port Perry, and I would love to spend some time investigating the ones in Missouri.

Aside from spooklights, The Devil's Promenade, and non-paranormal stuff like Branson resorts, shopping, and much more there, is a lot in the state of Missouri for the paranormal enthusiast, and traveller to enjoy.

Sometimes ancient myths really are true......

"Rumors had been murmured for years of a mythical beast living deep in the waters of a northern Vietnam lake.

Some in a village west of Hanoi claimed to be blessed by catching a mere glimpse of the creature's concave shell as it crested above the surface of their lake.

Maybe this was the reincarnation of a giant golden turtle of national legend that bestowed upon the Vietnamese people a magic sword and victory over Chinese invaders in the 16th century.

Whether that sacred turtle has materialized in the 21st century will be a matter of cultural debate among the Vietnamese.

But the fact that the species - known by scientists as a Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) - is still alive in the wild at all is equally exhilarating news to scientists."

Full Article Here

I was reading an article this afternoon in regards to the more creative or weird fitness equipment that is now glutting the market.

One of the stranger items that was discussed is the "The Power Plate Vibrator." I had never heard of this before, but apparently the claim is the user will get 3 times the workout of traditional equipment by simultaneously vibrating your body while you exercise. Apparently it is used by astronauts......and is now available to you too!

I'm sceptical, and to be honest wonder what ever happened to the good old fashioned walk outside?

Spooky.....

BERLIN (AFP) — A 13-year-old German schoolboy corrected NASA's estimates on the chances of an asteroid colliding with Earth, a German newspaper reported Tuesday, after spotting the boffins had miscalculated.

Nico Marquardt used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a 1 in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, the Potsdamer Neuerster Nachrichten reported.

NASA had previously estimated the chances at only 1 in 45,000 but told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that the young whizzkid had got it right.

The schoolboy took into consideration the risk of Apophis running into one or more of the 40,000 satellites orbiting Earth during its path close to the planet on April 13 2029.

Those satellites travel at 3.07 kilometres a second (1.9 miles), at up to 35,880 kilometres above earth -- and the Apophis asteroid will pass by earth at a distance of 32,500 kilometres.

If the asteroid strikes a satellite in 2029, that will change its trajectory making it hit earth on its next orbit in 2036.

Both NASA and Marquardt agree that if the asteroid does collide with earth, it will create a ball of iron and iridium 320 metres (1049 feet) wide and weighing 200 billion tonnes, which will crash into the Atlantic Ocean.

The shockwaves from that would create huge tsunami waves, destroying both coastlines and inland areas, whilst creating a thick cloud of dust that would darken the skies indefinitely.

Full article here

Human extinction would be inevitable....The boy named his project "Apophis -- The Killer Astroid"

Update: NASA Denies It

It used to be that our home was covered in CAT6 cables, and while I really do not know much about network wiring, I was getting tired of tripping over these cat cables.

We recently switched to wireless, and I have not noticed any difference with the exception of the cats (the real ones) are disappointed that the cables they would like to chew on are gone.

I was emailed the following news item, and thought I'd share it:

"You may have heard that armed robots were yanked from Iraq after a gun started to swivel without it being told to do so. 'A recent news report that armed robots had been pulled out of Iraq is mistaken, according to the company that makes the robot [Foster-Miller] and the Army program manager. 'The whole thing is an urban legend,' says Foster Miller spokesperson Cynthia Black, of the reports about SWORDS moving its gun without a command."

...but what if SWORD kills it's creator?

I've said it before .... people scare me more than these topics!

Source: Slashdot

Image Credit: Wired

It never fails, with minimum exceptions no one within the paranormal community knows the name Elliott O'Donnell.

Elliott O'Donnell along with Scottish scholar Andrew Lang (who argued that folklore created mythology, not the other way round) did more than anyone else to create the notion of the "ghost story."

It was Elliott O'Donnell (long before tv) an Irish journalist, visited haunted castles and country homes throughout Britain in order to research and publish a series of collections that span half a century, from Some Haunted Houses (1908) to Trees of Ghostly Dread (1958). And yet he is almost completely forgotten, and never credited online.

Those were in the days though, where ghost hunting really was the domain of scientists, free-thinkers, and academics, as opposed to would-be tv stars who list their talent management agencies as if a badge of honour, and have seemingly no interest in actually advancing this study.

Thanks to our friend Ian for sending this our way! This is a fascinating video clip, of a most remarkable man.

Stephen Wiltshire from London, England is a star among savants. Stephen is autistic. He did not speak his first words "pencil" and "paper" until he was 5. Yet, when he was 11 he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only one helicopter ride. For this film we're testing the "Living camera" in Rome.

Just wanted to give you ladies, and gents the scoop on directbuy.....

DirectBuy offers members only showrooms, and design centers around North America, including Toronto where you can purchase brand name products at very low prices. You would be surprised at how much can be saved by simply removing the retail mark-up!

If you would like some more info on membership just give some clicky love to the link I've added in for you. Posh!

The fourth Doctor........

....Tom Baker is the most jaunty with that scarf imho. I have one just like it. No, he is not my Doctor, BUT his series produced my Davros!

Happy Wordless Wednesday - Tuesday Edition, and thank you for stopping by!

For a list of other Wordless Wednesday participants please click here.

The black bag of death or B.B.O.D is what we at Toronto Ghosts call our equipment bag. Contrary to popular belief these are NOT the size of your average golf bags. However, upon recently cleaning mine up for a proposed wee road trip next week I realised that it may just be time to switch up to a hockey bag sized version.

Coming soonly: A listing of the contents of the B.B.O.D beware!

Join Host Richard Syrett and Co-Host Victor Viggiani this Wednesday April 16 at 11:00 pm EST as they speak with author, X-Conference speaker and UFO researcher Rob Simone and this week’s Washington DC - X-Conference coordinator and political activist Stephen G. Bassett on News Talk 1010 CFRB Toronto AM radio.

Headline Speakers at the X-Conference 2008: Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, PhD – The Honourable Paul Hellyer – George Noory of Coast to Coast

You can listen live here.

.....Or at least this is a statement I came across while reading an article about an investigation in a former asylum now a drug treatment prison.

Firstly this statement makes me snigger because I do not believe that any drug treatment facility could be considered a "prison" in the strictest sense of the word, which the writer implied.

Secondly, the article itself showed about as much sensitivity towards people suffering mental illness as another person I came across that claimed "insane ghosts are worse than other spirits."

Huh?! It seems a few people out there have watched one too many Scooby Doo reruns.

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

Elora Gorge - "Mystery Man"

"It was February 24th 2007. My friend and I were exploring the trail surrounding the Elora Gorge for photo opportunities. The area was covered in untouched snow and it was a bright sunny day. A perfect day for a perfect shot.

We had been there for over an hour and during this time encountered less than a handful of people. Although the day was great it was still cold and the conservation area was closed. We did not expect to see too many others.

At this time we came across a staircase leading towards the edge of the Gorge off the main trail.

The staircase was stony and snow covered at the top and slippery steel at the bottom so when a man approached from behind we moved aside to allow him to pass. He appeared to be around his late 40’s in a cross between jogging and hiking attire. He seemed to be in a hurry but still at a walking pace.

We continued our descent down the stairs taking pictures along the way. When we reached the bottom we came to a fenced off area and looking around we discovered there was nowhere left to go but back up the staircase. At this moment we realized that the man that passed us only moments before never did go back up. The chills that ran up my back were definitely not from the cold wether alone!!

We searched the areas around the fencing to see if there were signs that the man climbed over and continued on a different path. However, we found no footprints around the fence area or any other evidence to prove this would have even been possible.

At this time we also entertained the thought he may have leapt into the Gorge but again found nothing to support this theory.

So back we went up the stairs to the main trail and spent more time in the area taking pictures. All the while looking around in hopes of catching a glimpse of our "mystery man". This was never meant to be. Leaving the area that day, we accepted that we just experienced something that could never be explained."

Does this report sound familiar? Do you have a similar experience at this location that you would like to share? If so, we would like to hear from you. Please send your submission to submissions AT torontoghosts.org

Image Credit: One of Elora's many tourist attractions, the architecturally significant David St. Bridge was saved from destruction by active citizens. Photograph by David Neelin.